God hates the sin but loves the sinner. By Charles Spurgeon.

You have heard people say, God hates the sin but loves the sinner. That is a lie. He does not love the sinner who continues in his sin.

One of the most cherished delusions of modern Christendom is the sentiment that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. This phrase is often quoted as though it were scripture, yet not only does it appear nowhere in the Bible, it stands in direct contradiction to what God himself declares. It is a subtle but deadly falsehood that seeks to soften the solemn reality of God's wrath against the ungodly, and it distorts his holy character.

The Bible does not teach that God is angry merely at the sin in some abstract, impersonal way. Rather, Scripture consistently affirms that God is angry with the sinner himself. The sin has no existence, apart from the one who commits it. A theft has no moral quality without a thief. Adultery does not happen, apart from an adulterer. It is the sinner, the moral agent who rebels against his Creator, who is the object of God's holy hatred and righteous indignation.

This is not conjecture. It is clearly and repeatedly taught in the Word of God.

Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you. And when the Lord saw it, He abhorred them. God is angry with the wicked every day. You hate all workers of iniquity. The Lord abhors murderers and deceitful men. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence His soul hates. On the wicked He will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur. A scorching wind will be their lot. The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this. They will not go unpunished. The Lord is a jealous and avenging God. The Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His foes and maintains His wrath against His enemies. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath, prepared for destruction? Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

These are not isolated statements, but the consistent witness of both Old and New Testaments. God is not some indifferent observer who frowns at sin, but smiles upon the sinner. No, He is the righteous judge who abhors both the crime and the criminal. The sinner, if he continues in rebellion and impenitence, is storing up divine wrath for the day of judgment.

This doctrine is both humbling and sobering. It strips away the flattering lies of man-exalting theology and forces us to see God as He truly is, perfectly holy, righteously angry, and altogether just. It shows us that the only hope for the sinner lies not in imagining that God loves him just the way he is, but in fleeing to the only refuge provided, the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, every sinner remains under wrath.

God's love is not universal and unconditional toward the unrepentant. Rather, His love is holy, particular, and effectual, reserved for those who are united to Christ by faith. Outside of Him, there is no shelter from the storm of divine judgment.

Let no one be deceived. God does not love those who hate His Son. His wrath abides on them still. Let this truth drive us to reverent fear, deep repentance, and heartfelt gratitude for the sovereign grace that alone delivers sinners from the just wrath of a holy God.